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1 THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 1 CASEY GWINN,* GAEL STRACK,** SUSAN ADAMS,*** REBECCA LOVELACE,**** AND DEBORAH NORMAN***** 1. In February 2007, Saint Louis University held the Urban Family Symposium and invited four directors from operating Family Justice Centers to present on Family Justice Centers: Providing Support for Victims of Domestic Violence. The four directors, along with another, co-authored this article to explain the Family Justice Center collaborative model, share their insights, and document the exciting history of the Family Justice Center movement to date. * Casey Gwinn, J.D., CEO of the YWCA of San Diego and the San Diego Family Justice Center Foundation. Casey Gwinn was the visionary behind the creation of the San Diego Family Justice Center during his tenure as the elected San Diego City Attorney. He now serves as the CEO of the YWCA of San Diego County and is the Board President of the National Family Justice Center Alliance. Casey was a prosecutor from 1985 to 1996 and then served as the elected San Diego City Attorney from 1996 to He was admitted to the California State Bar in 1985 and is a graduate of Stanford University and UCLA School of Law. He is a recognized National/International trainer and author on domestic violence issues. He can be reached at: It is almost impossible to thank all those who made the Family Justice Center a reality. In addition to those individuals acknowledged by Gael Strack, I would like to thank our national training team including Jim Barker, Diane McGrogan, Jennifer Bodine, Robert Keetch, Charles Wilson, Tim Campen and Judi Adams. ** Gael Strack, J.D., National/International Family Justice Center Alliance. Gael B. Strack is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Family Justice Center Alliance, which provides technical assistance to over thirty existing and pending Family Justice Centers across the world. Prior to this position, Gael served as the Director of the San Diego Family Justice Center from October 2002 through May 2007 and was a domestic violence prosecutor for seventeen years at the San Diego City Attorney s Office. Gael has also worked as a deputy public defender and a deputy county counsel for the San Diego County Counsel s office handling juvenile dependency matters. She graduated from Western State College of Law in December Gael can be reached at I am particularly grateful and proud of our City Leaders for making the Family Justice Center a reality and their commitment to keeping it going. My heartfelt thanks and appreciation go to our Mayor, our City Council members (past & current), the Family Justice Center s Steering Committee (which includes Police Chief William Lansdowne, Fire Chief Tracy Jarman, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, City Attorney Mike Aguirre, Council members Jim Madaffer and Brian Maienschein), Former Police Chief David Bejarano, Former Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, Former City Attorney Casey Gwinn, Former City Manage Lamont Ewell, the Board of the FJC Foundation and Kimberly Weisz, President of the Operation Hope Auxillary. It has been a wonderful opportunity to work with so many dedicated professionals from the 27 onsite partners, the volunteers, the San Diego Police Department s Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse units, the City Attorney s Domestic Violence and Special Crimes unit and--in particular--the small but mighty staff of the Family Justice Center Department. Everyone has played a key role in the day-to-day operation of the Center and provided commitment and spirit to helping hurting families in San Diego. I have been truly humbled by the realization that literally thousands and 79

2 80 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 I. INTRODUCTION For nearly thirty years, the domestic violence shelter movement in the United States has been developing and implementing a vision for co-located, multi-disciplinary services for victims of domestic violence and their children. The concept first focused on providing emergency housing but it soon expanded to include food, clothing, job training and placement, credit repair, medical services, and access to a host of other services. By the early 1980s, leaders of the national domestic violence movement sought support and assistance from the criminal and civil justice systems to protect victims and holding abusers accountable. 2 Once recruited into this powerful feminist social thousands of victims of violent crimes are counting on our leadership and our ability to work together in order to make the system work for their safety and the safety of their children. *** Susan B. Adams, J.D., Crystal Judson Family Justice Center. In May of 2005, Susan Adams was selected as the Director of the newly created Crystal Judson Family Justice Center. Prior to working at the Family Justice Center, Ms. Adams worked in the criminal justice system in Pierce County. After graduating from the University of Puget Sound School of Law, she served as a judicial assistant in Pierce County Superior Court for one year. Ms. Adams spent the next fourteen years as a deputy prosecutor with the Pierce County Prosecutor s Office. During her years as a prosecutor, Ms. Adams served as a Division Chief, the Supervisor of the Domestic Violence Unit, a Felony Trial Team Chief and a Felony trial lawyer. I would like to recognize Eileen O'Brien, retired Justice Services Manager from the Prosecutor's Office, for her work in making the FJC happen. She was our visionary! **** Rebecca Lovelace, Nampa Family Justice Center. Since November 2005, Rebecca has served as the Director of the Family Justice Center in Nampa, Idaho. Rebecca has been involved in helping victims of domestic violence for fourteen years, first, as an Alternative Sentencing Worker, interviewing and making sentencing recommendations for offenders at the felony level for alternatives to incarceration, and then, as a probation officer. In 1997, Rebecca started working directly with victims of domestic violence victims and their families doing grant writing, financial management and court advocacy at the local domestic violence shelter. Rebecca has a bachelor s degree in Psychology from California State University, Fresno. I would like special recognition to go to Nampa City Mayor Tom Dale and Detective Angela Weekes of the Nampa Police Department for their never ending support and dedication to making the lives of domestic violence and child abuse victims and survivors better in Canyon County, Idaho. ***** Deborah Norman, J.D., St. Louis Family Justice Center. Deborah L. Norman is President of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Family Violence Council, which is responsible for the operation of the St. Louis Family Justice Center. Professionally, Debbie is Associate General Counsel for Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. practicing trademark law. She received her J.D. and M.S.W. from Washington University, St. Louis, and a B.S. Education from Illinois State University. A special thank you and acknowledgment is expressed to St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, the St. Louis City Police Department and its DART unit, the St. Louis Family Violence Council, Mary Burns and Anna Ginsburg. 2. See Del Martin, BATTERED WIVES (rev. ed. 1981); Emily J. Sack, Battered Women and the State: The Struggle for the Future of Domestic Violence Policy, 6 Wis. L. Rev. 1657, 1666, 1675 (2004). Rita Smith at the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Lynn Rosenthal (formerly) at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Cheryl Cataes at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and Esta Soler at the Family Violence Prevention Fund have also been instrumental in teaching the lessons of organizing through leadership.

3 2007] THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 81 movement to stop violence against women, the criminal and civil justice systems began to engage and mobilize through legislative initiatives and mandates, policy and protocol changes, participation in coordinated community response efforts, and a variety of other initiatives advocated by domestic violence movement leaders. 3 The movement s decision to engage the criminal and civil justice systems in the social change effort to stop violence against women laid the foundation for today s Family Justice Center movement. By the late 1980s, a proliferation of new programs had emerged to help victims and children. 4 With the passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, 5 federal funding became available for many new programs, 6 and it quickly became apparent that as public awareness and funding increased, so did agencies and programs serving victims and children. Rather than having only one or two shelter-based locations for services, large communities developed many agencies and, therefore, several locations offering services and support. The added criminal and civil justice system involvement dramatically increased the number of places victims and children had to go to obtain all necessary services. In the midst of trauma and danger, navigating so many agencies and systems was overwhelming for most victims. 7 In the mid-1990s, domestic violence professionals called for the development of a coordinated community response. 8 Coordinated community responses ( CCRs ) created task forces and coordinating councils to get all community agencies working together to avoid duplication and inconsistency. CCRs took the form of coordinating councils, criminal justice center system reform and/or community intervention projects. One of the most well-known CCRs, the Duluth 3. CASEY GWINN & GAEL STRACK, HOPE FOR HURTING FAMILIES: CREATING FAMILY JUSTICE CENTERS ACROSS AMERICA 27 (2006). 4. Sack, supra note 2, at Id. at Violence Against Women Act of 1994, Pub. L. No , 108 Stat (codified in scattered sections of 18 U.S.C., 28 U.S.C., and 42 U.S.C.). This statute is a United States federal law, passed as Title IV, sec of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 HR 3355 and signed as Public Law by President Bill Clinton on September 13, It provided $1.6 billion to enhance investigation and prosecution of the violent crime perpetrated against women, increased pre-trial detention of the accused, provided for automatic and mandatory restitution of those convicted. See San Diego, Cal., Ordinance O (Nov. 29, 2004); see also 42 U.S.C. 3796gg 3796hh (2000) (detailing grant programs authorized to strengthen domestic violence law enforcement, prosecution, and victim services programs). 7. Eilene Zimmerman, Where Justice is Served, SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE, Sept. 2004, at 2, available at Where-Justice-is-Served/. 8. See, e.g., National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Fact Sheet, factsheet.html (last visited Jan. 8, 2008).

4 82 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DAIP), serves as a model for many CCRs. 9 Such efforts, however, did not slow the production of more specialized domestic violence programs or units in prosecutor s offices, police and probation departments, criminal and civil courts, hospitals, mental health programs, advocacy agencies, and drug and alcohol treatment organizations. In San Diego, in 1989, Casey Gwinn, Gael Strack, and Ashley Walker of the YWCA of San Diego County saw the problem with disparate and inconsistent services emerging and called for a Family Justice Center, a centralized location housing staff from each relevant agency. By providing a single location, victims of domestic violence could access the services of the criminal/civil justice systems and the social service community. 10 Between 1989 and 1998, these visionaries and over eighty survivors and service professionals, organized through the San Diego Domestic Violence Council, began working toward this vision by bringing together the staffs of the multiple agencies within the San Diego City Attorney s Domestic Violence Unit. 11 The core philosophy supported by all key stakeholders of the Family Justice Center movement came directly from the vision for co-located services being pursued at the YWCA, which was the largest and domestic violence shelter-based service agency in San Diego at the time. By 1998, more than forty agencies in the public and private sectors endorsed the vision for the Family Justice Center. 12 Between 1998 and 2002, a comprehensive strategic planning process led and facilitated by Judith Adams helped evaluate and address the myriad of complex issues prior to formal creation of the Center. Thus, as we describe the now evolving national Family Justice Center movement, it must be emphasized that Family Justice Centers are not and should not be viewed as rejecting the community-based domestic violence movement, but rather as a product of it. While other co-located service centers evolved in communities all across America during the 1990s, 13 after four years 9. Meg Townsend et al., Interim Report: Evaluability Assessment of the President s Family Justice Center Initiative 5 (Research Report No , 2005), available at 10. Zimmerman, supra note See Casey G. Gwinn & Sgt. Anne O Dell, Stopping the Violence: The Role of the Police Officers and Prosecutor, 20 W. ST. U. L. REV. 298, 311 n.39 (1993). 12. See Family Justice Center Fiscal Year 2008 Proposed Budget 362, (last visited Oct. 27, 2007). 13. Press Release, Dep t of Justice, Attorney General Ashcroft Announces $20 Million for Communities Through President Bush s Family Justice Center Initiative (July 21, 2004), available at

5 2007] THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 83 of aggressive planning efforts San Diego created the largest and most comprehensive center with the opening of the Center in II. HISTORY OF THE SAN DIEGO FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER A The Vision is Born In September, 1989, City Attorney John Witt called District Attorney Ed Miller to propose a one stop shop domestic violence service center in San Diego. 15 Deputy City Attorney Casey Gwinn had written a ten-page proposal to be distributed to all the supervisors in the DA s Office. The premise was simple: victims would have an easier time receiving needed services if they only had to go one place to get all the necessary help. 16 When Gwinn arrived in the DA s Office on the 14th floor of the Wells Fargo Building, he was ushered into the main conference room to meet with the heads of each branch, with the District Attorney, the Assistant District Attorney, and the Chief Deputy District Attorney. Gwinn s proposal was distributed and he was given the floor for twenty minutes. 17 Upon conclusion of his presentation, there were a few questions, and Gwinn was ushered out without ever receiving a formal response to his proposal. 18 It seemed fair to say that a one stop shop for domestic violence victims was an idea whose time had not yet come. Even after that discouraging day, the City Attorney s office was determined to move forward with the concept. By the early 1990s, the YWCA and the Center for Community Solutions ( CCS ) were invited to be on-site partners inside the City Attorney s Child Abuse and Domestic Violence ( CADV ) Unit. 19 The CADV Unit expanded its own advocacy program with grants and City General Fund revenue and soon thereafter, staff from the District Attorney s Victim-Witness Program joined the City Attorney s CADV Unit and deputy city attorneys were cross-deputized to handle felonies as well as misdemeanors Press Release, San Diego City Attorney, President Bush Announces Creation of Family Justice Centers for Victims of Domestic Violence, Modeled After The San Diego Family Justice Center 2 3 (Oct. 8, 2003), available at pdf/news03/ pdf [hereinafter Press Release: Bush Announces Creation of Family Justice Centers]. 15. National Family Justice Center Alliance, About Us, History of San Diego Family Justice Center, (last visited Oct. 26, 2007). 16. Id. 17. Id. 18. Id. 19. Id. 20. Id.

6 84 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 From the City Attorney s determination to move forward with a limited one stop shop, prosecutors from the CADV Unit and detectives from the San Diego Police Department began rotating between offices on a weekly basis. 21 The City Attorney successfully pursued grants for partnerships with Children s Hospital and Child Protective Services 22 and within a year of this humble attempt at a multi-disciplinary service center, it became abundantly clear that the idea was the right one. Under one roof, victims could now get a restraining order, see a prosecutor talk to a detective, and meet with an advocate from Children s Hospital; 23 co-located, multi-disciplinary services were an idea whose time had come. B The Partnership & Planning Within six months of David Bejarano becoming the Police Chief of San Diego in 1998, he sat down with now-elect City Attorney Casey Gwinn to discuss two initiatives: 1) creating a neighborhood prosecution unit; and 2) creating a one stop shop for victims of domestic violence. 24 They took the idea of co-located services to the next step and created a planning team led by Assistant Chief Rulette Armstead and Assistant City Attorney Gael Strack, among others. 25 Together, they held community forums, conducted focus groups, and visited other sites. A feasibility study was ultimately completed by Sgt. Monica Kaiser from the San Diego Police Department. 26 Seeking input from the community and the stakeholders was key in determining the right model for San Diego. It was the foundation for community buy-in, long-term support and ultimately our sustainability plan. With each community forum, presentation and meeting, came the gift of new ideas, enthusiasm and pledges of support. C City Approval By October 2001, Gwinn and Bejarano, with support from the community and the San Diego Domestic Violence Council, were ready to formally propose an all-in-one center for victims of domestic violence before the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services ( PS&NS ) Committee of the City Council. 27 At 21. History of San Diego Family Justice Center, supra note Id. 23. Id. 24. Id. 25. Also included were Lt. Jim Barker, Sgt. Monica Kaiser, Head Deputy City Attorney Brian Erickson, Senior Analyst Mary Ann Stepnowsky, Senior Advocate Kimberly Pearce, Investigator Chris Lee, Senior Legal Secretary Marta Overly, and Information Technology Analyst Kevin Westover. See id. 26. GWINN & STRACK, supra note 3, at See History of San Diego Family Justice Center, supra note 15.

7 2007] THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 85 the hearing, the duo outlined the City s fifteen-year response to domestic violence, the current problem, and the potential solution the San Diego Family Justice Center by documenting the planning and preparation for a Family Justice Center over the previous years. 28 As a result, the Council concluded these efforts created the right time to move forward with concrete plans for a Family Justice Center. Their proposal included best practices, local partners, proven strategies, innovative programs, and a potential site, 29 and after public comment, the PS&NS Committee unanimously directed Gwinn and Bejarano to submit their plan to the City Council for their review and approval. 30 D The San Diego Family Justice Center is Launched In April 2002, the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager unanimously supported the proposal to open a Family Justice Center in the heart of downtown San Diego. 31 The center promised to be one of the most significant initiatives to help domestic violence victims in this region in the past twenty years, bringing over twenty agencies and over one hundred domestic violence professionals under one roof. The goal was simple: consolidate San Diego s efforts and expertise to provide more services, more safety, and more justice to victims and their children. The Family Justice Center was poised to be the first facility in the country to house: the Police Department s entire Domestic Violence Unit (forty officers), the City Attorney s Domestic Violence Unit (thirty-five attorneys), and staff from approximately twenty other community nonprofit domestic violence and sexual assault agencies and county agencies. For the first time in San Diego history, the criminal justice community would have the opportunity to offer a wide range of services and tap the expertise of many professionals from a single location. With the unanimous vote from the Mayor and City Council, and a $500,000 Challenge Grant from the California Endowment, the Family Justice Center was launched, realizing a fifteen-year-old dream to one day provide services for victims of family violence from one location. 32 The San Diego Family Justice Center had the full support of over forty community organizations and the county s entire congressional and state legislative delegations. 28. Id. 29. Id. 30. Id. 31. See Press Release: Bush Announces Creation of Family Justice Centers, supra note 14, at Id.

8 86 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 On October 10, 2002, the San Diego Family Justice Center opened its doors, 33 and victims of domestic violence in the San Diego could now come to one location to talk to an advocate, get a restraining order, plan for their safety, talk to a police officer, meet with a prosecutor, receive medical assistance, counsel with a chaplain, get help with transportation, and obtain nutrition and pregnancy services counseling. During its first month, the Family Justice Center welcomed over eighty-seven clients and received over 650 phone calls requesting assistance, 34 and today the Center averages over 1,000 new and returning clients and over 3,000 phone calls per month. 35 E The Creation of a New Family Justice Center Department Given the tremendous success and growth of the Family Justice Center during the first twenty-four months of operation, city policy makers and community leaders realized that a clear governance structure was needed to ensure continuation of benefits to the citizens of San Diego. The looselystructured collaboration under the auspices of the City Attorney and Police Chief succeeded in creating the Center, but a clear governance structure was crucial to its long-term success. In October 2004, Gwinn, along with City Manager Lamont Ewell, Police Chief William Lansdowne, and Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, proposed a city ordinance to establish a new city department that was separate from the Attorney s Office and the Police Department, to support and advance the Center s mission, goals, management, operation and future challenges. 36 On November 29, 2004, the mayor and city council unanimously approved an Ordinance to create the Office of the San Diego Family Justice Center with a new director reporting to the City Manager and a steering committee. 37 Consisting of the Chair of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee of the City Council, Director of the FJC, and representatives from the San Diego Police Department, City Attorney s Office, and the District Attorney s Office, the Steering Committee assists the City Manager in developing and overseeing operational guidelines, a long range strategic plan, and recommendations pertaining to programs, priorities and the annual budget for the Family Justice Center to the Mayor and Council. On December 4, 2004, City Manager Lamont Ewell appointed Gael Strack Director of the 33. KPBS Homepage, Help is Available, domestic_violence/stalking/help (last visited Oct. 26, 2007). 34. See Press Release: Bush Announces Creation of Family Justice Centers, supra note 14, at Id. 36. See San Diego, Cal., Ordinance O (Nov. 29, 2004). 37. Family Justice Center Fiscal Year 2008 Proposed Budget, supra note 12, at 362.

9 2007] THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 87 Office of the San Diego Family Justice Center. 38 The initial staff for this new city department included: Jean Emmons, Executive Secretary; Kimberly Pearce, Manager of Client Services, and Diana Monaco, Grants Analyst, and Sgt. Robert Keetch, on special assignment from the San Diego Police Department as Manager of Operations. The San Diego Family Justice Center s collaboration eventually grew to include twenty-seven agencies participating in an on-site or off-site capacity. Each week, nearly 120 professionals provide services to victims and their children 39 and are supported by a volunteer program that, at its peak, included more than 100 volunteers who attended a forty-hour training academy before joining the Family Justice Center team. 40 Each volunteer commits a minimum of twelve hours per month for a year. To date, the San Diego Family Justice Center has served over 30,000 clients. 41 It has gained national and international attention based on the qualitative feedback from clients participating in focus groups and exit interviews. 42 The Center has also been recognized for continuing the twenty-year decline in domestic violence homicides in the City of San Diego which now gives San Diego the lowest domestic violence homicide rate of any major city in America. 43 III. HISTORY OF THE PRESIDENT S FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER INITIATIVE A President Bush Announces Presidential Family Justice Center Initiative In April 2003, Gwinn attended a White House Roundtable on Family Violence organized by Lifetime Television. He participated in a panel at the White House with Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, Office on Violence Against Women Director Diane Stuart, Domestic Policy Advisor to the President Margaret Spellings, and others to discuss the future of the national movement to stop family violence. During the meeting, Gwinn advocated for two major ideas: that the President should speak in a national address on the issue of family violence; and that the administration should support innovative, forward- 38. GWINN & STRACK, supra note 3, at 54. The initial staff for this new city department included: Jean Emmons, Executive Secretary; Kimberly Pearce, Manager of Client Services, and Diana Monaco, Grants Analyst, and Sgt. Robert Keetch, on special assignment from the San Diego Police Department as Manager of Operations. 39. History of San Diego Family Justice Center, supra note Id. 41. See Family Justice Center Fiscal Year 2008 Proposed Budget, supra note 12, at Id. at Press Release, Office of San Diego Mayor, 2005 Crime Index 2, 10 (Feb. 21, 2006), available at

10 88 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 looking initiatives such as the San Diego Family Justice Center. Gwinn argued that without new approaches to service delivery, the national domestic violence movement would continue to proliferate services to victims without providing the most efficient, easily accessible services to victims. Six months later, Gwinn and Strack (then Director of the Family Justice Center) were invited to participate in a White House event on October 8, 2003 hosted by the President to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month. During the event, Gwinn met privately with the President and Diane Stuart, the Director of the Justice Department s Office on Violence Against Women ( OVW ) and then joined over 150 national leaders in the domestic violence movement for a presidential address. In his October 8 speech, President Bush announced the President s Family Justice Center Initiative designed to create Family Justice Centers across America modeled after the San Diego Family Justice Center. 44 Subsequently, Diane Stuart from the OVW was asked to take the lead on this pilot program to develop fifteen similar centers in communities across the country. 45 B Over 400 Submit Letters of Intent to Open FJC, 15 Sites are Selected By January 2004, over 400 communities responded with letters of intent to the United States Department of Justice s announcement of the Family Justice Center Initiative, 46 and the San Diego Family Justice Center Foundation (the Foundation ) was asked to become the comprehensive technical assistance provider for the entire initiative. On July 21, 2004, Attorney General Ashcroft announced that the Department of Justice was awarding more than $20 million to fifteen communities chosen under President Bush s Family Justice Center Initiative to prevent and respond to violence against women. Furthermore, five communities would receive technical assistance grants to provide specialized expertise and consultation. 47 The fifteen recipients of the Initiative awards were selected, among other criteria, based on geographic distribution, 44. Press Release, The White House, President Bush Proclaims October Domestic Violence Awareness Month (Oct. 8, 2003), available at 10/ html; Joe Hughes, San Diego s Family Justice Center is Hailed by Bush, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, Oct. 9, 2003, available at _1m9center.html. 45. Press Release, Dep t of Justice, Justice Department to Spearhead President s Family Justice Center Initiative to Better Serve Domestic Violence Victims (Oct. 8, 2003), available at 46. See History of San Diego Family Justice Center, supra note Press Release, Dep t of Justice, Attorney General Ashcroft Announces $1,248,008 For Hillsborough County Area through President Bush s Family Justice Center Initiative (July 21, 2004), available at

11 2007] THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 89 economic and cultural diversity, service to underserved populations, and coordination with Native American communities. 48 The San Diego Family Justice Center Foundation was designated the comprehensive technical assistance provider for the initiative. 49 The initiative was guided by a national advisory board and supported by a national faculty of trainers and four targeted technical assistance providers from the Julian Center (Indianapolis, Indiana), Hennepin County (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Safe Havens (Boston, Massachusetts), and the National Network to End Domestic Violence (Washington, D.C.). Together, the San Diego team and the other faculty assisted OVW in providing onsite training and technical assistance for the fifteen sites across the nation. The President s Initiative was founded on a number of fundamental elements distinguishing it from other co-located services: 50 Co-located Services: one site for detectives, prosecutors, advocates, civil legal, medical, spiritual support, and communitybased social service professionals; 51 Pro-Arrest/Mandatory Arrest Policies: law enforcement and prosecution services emphasizing the importance of arrest, prosecution and long-term accountability for offenders; 52 Policies Incidental to Arrest/Enforcement: policies to eliminate dual and/or mutual arrest; 53 Victim Safety/Advocacy: on-site staff to assess and provide victim safety, which includes security for staff and clients at the center; 54 Victim Confidentiality: confidentiality policies and procedures in place as required by law; The fifteen communities receiving the awards were: County of Alameda, Oakland, California; Bexar County, San Antonio, Texas; City of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts; Defiance Municipal Court, Defiance, Ohio; County of Erie, Buffalo, New York; Hillsborough County, Tampa, Florida; City of Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee; City of Nampa, Nampa, Idaho; City of New York, Brooklyn, New York; Ouachita Parish Police Jury, Monroe, Louisiana; Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Sitka, Alaska; Somos Familia Family Institute, Inc., Las Vegas, New Mexico; St. Joseph County, South Bend, Indiana; City of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; City of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma. See id. 49. Id. As the comprehensive technical assistance provider, the Foundation developed an executive committee composed of Casey Gwinn, Gael Strack, and Charles Wilson and staffed by Lt. Jim Barker (Ret.), training director; Diane McGrogan (LCSW), co-training director; Jennifer Bodine, administrative assistant; and Judi Adams, consultant. 50. OFFICE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, THE PRESIDENT S FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER INITIATIVE BEST PRACTICES 2 4 (2007), available at pfjci_bestpractices_overview2007.pdf [hereinafter BEST PRACTICES]. 51. Id. at Id. 53. Id. 54. Id.

12 90 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 Victim-Centered Facility where Offenders are Prohibited: services oriented toward victims and their children and not towards assistance for violent criminal defendants; 56 History of Domestic Violence Specialization: specialized training is a priority for each discipline, i.e. law enforcement, advocates, prosecutors, judges, court support personnel, and medical professionals; 57 Strong Support from Local Leaders: policy makers, elected officials and tribal leaders provide strong local support to the center; 58 Strategic Planning is Critical to Short-Term and Long-Term Success: each center works with a strategic planner to ensure sustainability, development of the program, and local funding options for future operations; 59 Strong/Diverse Community Support: recognition that all centers need strong, diverse community support from local government, state government, business, labor, diverse community-based social service and faith based organizations. 60 C Congress Adds Family Justice Centers to the Violence Against Women Act Under Title I of the Violence Against Women Act, Congress recognized the importance of the Family Justice Centers by denoting the model as a purpose area. 61 The Family Justice Center has been identified as a best practice in the field of domestic violence intervention and prevention services by OVW and the California Attorney General for using a wraparound service delivery model. 62 This significant and historic federal legislation will allow more communities to seek federal assistance in planning and operating their centers in the years to come. 63 Preliminary outcomes and evaluation results have included reduced domestic violence homicides, increased victim safety, increased autonomy, increased empowerment for victims and professionals, reduced fear and 55. Id. at BEST PRACTICES, supra note 50, at Id. 58. Id. 59. Id. at Id. 61. Id. at BEST PRACTICES, supra note 50, at Id.

14 92 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 Chaplaincy or faith-based counseling programs providing victims and their families with non-sectarian spiritual guidance. 74 Beyond the federal initiative, the Family Justice Center movement is developing rapidly in other communities, evidenced by the thirty centers now in operation and the many planning centers across the United States that managed to open even absent federal funding. 75 Many communities who were denied federal funding through the President s Family Justice Center Initiative nonetheless determined that their communities were ready for such a program. Among the first to open Family Justice Centers outside the federal initiative were Riverside, California and Tacoma/Pierce County, Washington. 76 National Alliance Director Gael Strack refers to these sites as the unstoppables for their unrelenting commitment to making their dream of helping the hurting families of their community a reality. The Family Justice Center movement is also spreading around the world with similar centers now operating in Canada, Mexico, and Great Britain with plans for additional centers in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. 77 D Mary Beth Buchanan Appointed Acting Director of OVW, New Orleans Family Justice Center Added to the Vision On November 29, 2006, President Bush appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Mary Beth Buchanan, as acting director of OVW. 78 Buchanan is also responsible for handling the OVW s legal and policy issues regarding the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act and overseeing an annual budget of almost $400 million. 79 Buchanan immediately set her sights on opening a new Family Justice Center in New Orleans. After the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans s population was reduced by half but domestic violence simultaneously increased by more than half. 80 Within her first few days, 74. Id. 75. SAN DIEGO FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER NEWSLETTER (Family Justice Center, San Diego, CA), Fall 2005, at 2, available at newsletter.pdf. 76. New Crystal Judson Family Justice Center Offers Hope and Safety, PIERCE COUNTY FRONT PAGE NEWS, Dec. 9, 2005, available at news.cfm?node_id=36750&media=pc; John Hunneman, Family Justice Center Set to Open, NORTH COUNTY TIMES-THE CALIFORNIAN, Jan. 22, 2006, available at articles/2006/01/23/news/californian/ txt. 77. National Family Justice Center Alliance, International Alliance, familyjusticecenter.org/info/international-alliance (last visited Oct. 26, 2007). 78. Office on Violence Against Women, OVW Acting Director, ovwactingdirector.htm (last visited Oct. 26, 2007). 79. Id. 80. Anne Rochell Konigsmark, Crime Takes Hold of New Orleans, USA TODAY, Nov. 30, 2006, available at

15 2007] THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 93 Buchanan individually met with Mary Claire Landry, Director of Crescent House, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, and Casey Gwinn. Together they formed an impressive Steering Committee to lead the effort to open the New Orleans center. After visiting the San Diego Center in January 2007, Buchanan stated: The Family Justice Center model is, at its core, a concept that increases community capacity while also providing diverse, culturally competent services to victims and their children from a single location. It is common sense that such an approach, if executed properly, will provide greater assistance to those in need. 81 By February 2007, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced a $3 million Department of Justice grant to open a Family Justice Center 82 that, along with technical assistance from the National Family Justice Center Alliance, helped launch a strategic planning process. 83 Only six months later, on August 28, 2007, Gonzales returned to Louisiana to participate in a ribboncutting for the New Orleans Family Justice Center, housed in a city-owned fire station that was previously used by the Historic District Landmarks Commission. 84 The two-story, 10,000 square foot center will initially house staff from five on-site partners, the New Orleans Police Department, the City Attorney s Office, the District Attorney s Office, Crescent House, and Project SAVE. 85 The New Orleans Family Justice Center, directed by Theresa Marchese, Crescent House Legal Director of Project SAVE, is a public-private partnership between Catholic Charities and federal, state, and local agencies to provide social, legal, and medical services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. IV. A LOOK INTO THE LIFE OF A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE BEFORE THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER: A REAL CASE FROM SAN DIEGO: A victim calls 911 to report domestic violence at 9:30 p.m. on a Friday night. She is Hispanic and speaks very little English. She is the mother of two small children, ages four and six. Her common-law husband, angry that she refused to cook him dinner and that she was taking care of the children when 81. BEST PRACTICES, supra note 50, at Press Release, Dep t of Justice, Attorney General Gonzalez Announces New Initiatives for Law Enforcement Efforts in New Orleans (Feb. 13, 2007), available at opa/pr/2007/february/07_ag_084.html. 83. Family Justice Center National Alliance, Thinking About Starting Family Justice Center?, (last visited Jan. 8, 2007). 84. Coleman Warner, Gonzales Mum on Resignation During Visit to N.O., THE TIMES- PICAYUNE, Aug. 28, 2007, available at mum_on_resignation_du.html. 85. Id.

16 94 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 she should have paying attention to him, just choked her and hit her with his belt. The victim threatens to call the police and her husband responds by threatening to take the children and have her deported. Fearing for her safety and the safety of her children, she calls the police. Her husband yanks the phone out of the wall, and the victim runs to her next door neighbor s apartment to call the police. She begins to experience trouble swallowing. The police dispatcher transfers the call to an interpreter and two police officers are dispatched to the scene. Fortunately, one officer speaks Spanish. Statements are taken from the victim, the suspect, the neighbor, and the sixyear-old child. The suspect is arrested and taken to jail. The six-year-old starts to cry upon seeing his father being arrested and taken away. The shaken and frightened victim begins to ask questions: When will he get out of jail? What if he comes back and takes my children to Mexico? How will I pay the rent? Where will we go? Will I get deported? Where can I get help? Will he lose his job? Will he get prosecuted? After answering her questions, the officer gives the victim a list of numbers to call and where to get help. As the officer prepares to leave, the victim again asks, when her husband will get out of jail. The officer responds that he has the right to post bail and could be released within a matter hours. The victim asks again how, and when, will she know. The officer merely refers her to the victim information sheet. The victim asks what will happen next and is told that her case will be submitted to the San Diego Police Department Domestic Violence Unit and a detective will be assigned to handle the case who will call her. To find out more about the case, she will need to talk to the detective. Afraid that her husband will retaliate when released, the victim asks where she can go with her two small children. She has no family or friends to turn to except for her husband s family. The officer suggests a shelter but the victim is worried about how long she will be allowed to stay. The officer informs her that after thirty days, she will have to find other housing, or if she wants to keep her husband away from the house and stay in the apartment, she would have to go to family court to obtain the appropriate orders. The victim is referred to a legal clinic that will help her file a protective order, seek child custody, restitution and spousal support but she has to wait until Monday to call from the numbers listed on the information sheet. Because she does not have a phone, the officer recommends she use a cellular phone that she could obtain from the San Diego City Attorney s office on Monday. But the victim asks Where is that and how do I get there? I don t have a car. While she begins to cough and her voice becomes raspy, the officer encourages the victim to seek medical attention for any injuries she may have suffered from being strangled, but the victim declines because she does not have medical insurance and does not want to take the children with her to the hospital in the middle of the night.

17 2007] THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 95 The officer then calls the duty judge to obtain an emergency protective order that gives the victim temporary custody of the children and orders her husband to stay away from the her. The emergency protective order, however, is only valid for five days. The defendant calls his family and is bailed out of jail by 3:30 am. By 9:00 a.m., the defendant s family is visiting the victim s apartment, pressuring her to drop the charges and take her husband back. The victim, however, insists she cannot take it any more and refuses. Later that morning, a detective stops at the apartment to take the victim s statement and photograph her injuries and the broken phone. The detective also speaks with the children and neighbors. Asking what happens next, the victim is told that the detective will refer the case to the City Attorney s Office for prosecution and it is left to the prosecutor to decide whether to file the complaint against her husband. The victim is then given another number for the City Attorney s Domestic Violence Unit. By Sunday, the children are asking when their Daddy is coming home but the victim can barely make sense of all the phone numbers or and all the people she needs to speak to or how she will do so because she has neither a phone nor transportation. Upon opening the door to leave, she finds a letter and roses from her husband on the doorstep of her apartment. In his letter, he is remorseful, begs for forgiveness and promises to go to counseling if she just gives him one more chance. He will wait for her call. Determined to live a different life for the sake of her children, she does nothing. She plans to call the prosecutor on Monday to find out if the case will be prosecuted. From a public payphone, she is referred to a Spanish-speaking advocate and advised that a determination has not yet been made. She will need to call back. In the meantime, the victim calls the legal clinic to make an appointment for help with her restraining order and other legal issues. She makes an appointment with the YWCA legal clinic for the restraining order and is told she needs to contact Casa Cornelia for immigration issues. She takes the bus with her two small children to the YWCA. When she arrives at the YWCA, she is helped with her paperwork and told to go to the police department for a certified copy of the police report, but she must wait until Wednesday to get it. After obtaining the certified police report, she files her paperwork at family court to get the order. The victim also asks for a cell phone but is told she has to go to the City Attorney s Office for one, so she walks to the City Attorney s Office with her children to get the cell phone. However, she arrives at lunch time and needs to wait for the person who handles the cell phone program to return. By now the kids are hungry and cranky and she leaves without the phone. On Thursday morning, she and her children take the bus to the court house. After waiting to see the judge, the protective order is granted and she is given

18 96 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 temporary custody of the kids. The suspect is also ordered to stay away from the house, but the court does not grant any financial support so the rent and bills go unpaid. She is advised that her financial issues will be addressed at the hearing roughly two weeks after serving the suspect with the order. That afternoon, she again takes the trolley to the City Attorney s Office for a cell phone, which she receives but realizes it is only able to call 911 or the hotline, not to make calls for other services. She also learns her case will be prosecuted as a misdemeanor and that the next court date is two weeks away. In the meantime, she takes the protective order to the Sheriff s Department to have it served on her husband and she then begins to worry about how she will pay the rent. She also suffers continuous pain while swallowing as a result of being choked. The victim decides to seek medical attention from a medical clinical, although she does not have medical insurance or money to pay for treatment, the clinic qualifies her for emergency medical assistance. However, to get additional treatment, she is referred to County Hospital. The victim returns to the legal clinic at the YWCA to inquire about housing as well as spousal and child support. She has the option of staying at the shelter or she may be eligible for Section 8 housing if Child Protective Services (CPS) is involved. Even with a CPS referral, she it will take weeks to find a place, interview, qualify, and move to the new apartment. Transitional housing is also available, but only through a referral from a shelter or selfreferral if she is homeless and only after at least two face-to-face interviews. Otherwise, she will need to get on a waiting list for Section 8 housing which is now five to eight years. To obtain financial assistance and food, the victim would need to go to the county and meet with a social worker. Once there, she is told that she could lose these benefits if the children miss fourteen days of school or if she receives additional income. To secure assistance for transportation, the victim is instructed to visit a Traveler s Aide office, which are located throughout the city and to apply for a monthly bus pass, for which she would need to reapply every month. Because the children were present at the time of the incident, The Police Department referred the case to CPS. Like the other agencies involved at this point, CPS visits the house and interviews the victim and children. Given the history of domestic violence, the CPS worker advises the victim to change her locks, seek a protective order, and enroll into counseling for herself and children. If she complies with terms, they would close their case within a year. Two weeks have passed and it is time to return to family and criminal court. The victim returns to family court for the protective order, but her case is continued because her husband was never served. When she calls the prosecutor and speaks with the victim advocate, she is informed that the defendant pled not guilty and that the case is being continued for a month for disposition and two months for a jury trial. The advocate suggests she take the

19 2007] THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER COLLABORATIVE MODEL 97 children to the Kids in Court Program. However, because the victim does not have a phone, she is asked to call the coordinator who advises her that she just missed the new session and the next three week session is the following month. Because the defendant has a criminal history, his probation from a prior case is revoked and the matter is set for hearing. Shortly thereafter, the probation officer is next to contact the victim for her statement. In preparation for the jury trial, the defense attorney also sends an investigator to interview the victim and her children. Her version varies slightly from her initial statement, as she has now told her story at least seventeen times, including to the dispatcher, police officer, follow-up detective, CPS worker, City Attorney advocate, prosecutor, YWCA legal advocate doctor at the clinic, police officer at records, Traveler s Aide, judge at the ex parte hearing, social worker for Calworks and Medical, counselor at Children s Hospital, coordinator for Kids in Court, probation officer, and to her friends as well as her husband s family. Meanwhile, the children are not sleeping and the six-year-old does not want to go school or leave his mother s side. The victim is not sleeping and is depressed, anxious, worried about the bills, and angry with her husband while missing him at the same time. Her husband is continuing to send her love notes and his family is pressuring her to drop charges. The landlord advises the victim that the rent is overdue and if it is not paid, she will be evicted. The next person at the door is her husband, bearing gifts for the kids and flowers for her. The victim receives a copy of the criminal stay order in the mail and is served with a subpoena to testify at the jury trial, none of which has been fully explained or, even if it had, she is struggling to understand it all. The victim fails to return to family court for her protective order, but goes to criminal court to testify for the defendant. The defendant pleads guilty and the court orders the defendant to complete counseling and public work service, pay restitution to the victim, a fine of $200, and to show proof of progress in thirty days. At the next hearing, the defendant inquires how the victim can get the criminal stay-away order lifted. The victim is then referred back to the City Attorney s Office to speak with an advocate. Meanwhile, the victim is contacted by the defendant s new probation officer, the treatment provider concerning defendant s counseling, and the prosecutor s office regarding restitution and the stay-away order. Because the victim does not have a phone, letters are sent to her home but are ignored. Tragically, within six months another domestic violence incident occurs and the process starts all over again. The problems with this system are obivious. The system was designed for the professionals who work with victims, not for victims who need to work with professionals. Under the current system described above, the victim is placed in the position of having to repeat her story many times, seek out services, and navigate through a maze of red tape and agencies.

20 98 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LAW REVIEW [Vol. XXVII:79 The Family Justice Center collaborative model seeks to put the victim and her children first by bringing as many professionals and services as possible under one roof. The victim will have access to the professionals she will need concerning her criminal case as well as access to answers concerning the civil court, legal issues and resources. She will no longer need to travel or call multiple locations to talk to the detective, prosecutor, advocate, probation officer, social worker, or child protective service worker about her case. She will not need to travel to multiple locations to seek medical attention, obtain a copy of the police report, or fill out the forms for a protective order or for transportation or housing. She will not need to repeat her story on seventeen occasions because instead, professionals will seek to limit the number of times a victim will need to be interviewed and even make use of specially designed interview rooms that allow for video taping of witness statements. Further, an advocate will be assigned to the victim who will vertically handle her case from the time it is received at the center until the matter is closed. V. A CLOSER LOOK AT THREE WORKING FAMILY JUSTICE CENTERS A. Nampa Family Justice Center Launched November 30, Rebecca Lovelace The Family Justice Center concept offered a solution to bring all the related services together in one location. We determined the City of Nampa owned a building suitable for housing such an agency, and committed the building and necessary remodeling funds to the Nampa FJC. With the efforts of Detective Angela Weekes and Rebecca Lovelace, organization and implementation of the FJC has been realized, and the operation has been a huge success for our citizens needing help in troubled times. Based on the success of this program, the city remains committed to the continued operation of the FJC in Nampa. 86 The development and operation of the Nampa Family Justice Center is the epitome of partnership, bringing a wide variety of community services together to efficiently and effectively serve victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse through a multi-disciplinary, community-based approach. The Nampa Family Justice Center ( NFJC ) opened in November, 2005 and provides victims of domestic and family violence access to advocacy, counseling, law-enforcement, prosecution, legal services, housing, employment services and limited medical/forensic services at a single location. 87 NFJC s mission is to create and grow a partnership of skilled, 86. Interview with Tom Dale, Mayor, City of Nampa, Idaho. 87. Press Release, Senator Mike Crapo, Crapo to Speak at Family Justice Center Opening (Nov. 29, 2005), available at See generally Nampa Family Justice Center Homepage, justicecenter.org/ (last visited Oct. 26, 2007).

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